Proteins that are secreted from a cell through a cell membrane are generally produced within the cell in a precursor form, referred to as a “preprotein” that includes an additional peptide sequence at the amino-terminus which is required to assist the protein in traversing the membrane. This additional peptide sequence is referred to as a “signal sequence” or “leader sequence”. In prokaryotes such as E. coli, the signal peptides direct secretion of proteins to the periplasm and outermembrane. In eukaryotic cells, preproteins containing a signal sequence are inserted through the membrane of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), thereby directing the preprotein into the secretory pathway. During this process, the signal sequence interacts with a particle called the signal recognition particle (SRP), which in turn is recognized by an RER membrane protein referred to as an SRP receptor or docking protein. After or simultaneous with insertion of the preprotein into the RER, the signal sequence is cleaved from the preprotein by an enzyme called a signal peptidase, thereby releasing the mature protein into the RER. Once proteins are segregated into the lumen of the ER, they migrate to the Golgi apparatus and then to secretory vesicles. Fusion of the secretory vesicles with the plasma membrane releases the contents of vesicle into the extracellular environment. In organisms having both a plasma membrane and a cell wall, e.g., yeast, the vesicle contents typically are released into the periplasmic space between the membrane and the cell wall.
Although signal sequences of secretory proteins share some general features, e.g., typically a short chain amino acid at the carboxyl end and a hydrophobic central region, no uniform consensus sequence exists for the vast array of secreted proteins (see e.g., Watson, M. E. E. (1984) Nucl. Acids. Res. 12:5145–5164). In fact, the primary structure of signal sequences of different secreted proteins vary considerably, both among secreted proteins of the same species and secreted proteins of different species. This suggests that each secreted protein has evolved with a particular signal sequence that is well suited for its own translocation across a cell membrane. In addition to differences in the sequences of their signal peptides, prokaryotes and eukaryotes are also different in the secretion process, e.g., in the function of the signal recognition particle and the use of chaperones.
Different E. coli signal sequences have been shown to be compatible for efficient expression of a heterologous polypeptide in E. coli. However, functional substitution between signal sequences of different species, esp. between prokaryotes and eukaryotes, are unpredictable, problematic, and less efficient. First, a host might successfully express and secret a heterologous protein with its native signal sequence, but may not be able to correctly cleave the signal peptide (e.g., Bacillus α-amylase in E.coli cell; see, e.g., Suominen et al., Microbiol. 141:649–54, 1995). In addition, while a few eukaryotic proteins have been secreted to the E. coli periplasm using their native signal sequences, it has been suggested that most eukaryotic signal sequences cannot function efficiently in a prokaryotic host such as E. coli (see, e.g., Humphreys et al., Prot. Exp. and Purif. 20:252–64, 2000). Some eukaryotic proteins, e.g., human apolipoprotein E, need to have their native signal sequences replaced with a prokaryotic signal in order to be secreted to the E. coli periplasm (see, e.g., Monteilhet et al., Gene 125:223–8, 1993).
The ability to efficiently produce a recombinant protein (e.g., an immunoglobulin) in a secreted form is highly desirable, since the secreted protein can then be recovered from a medium in which the host cells (e.g., E. coli) are growing. As discussed above, this process often does not function to the degree desired, for example because the native signal sequence of the recombinant protein often does not operate well in the host cell. Although certain signal sequences have been identified which may be useful for the secretion of recombinant protein (e.g., an recombinant immunoglobulin), there is still a need for additional signal sequences that can promote efficient secretion of recombinant immunoglobulins in a prokaryotic host. The present invention fulfills this and other needs.